Before becoming a parent one of my favourite things to do was go out for dinner. In fact, I just really loved going out for food full stop. After having Alexander, eating out has become difficult as later dinners usually coincide with his bedtime and the days of him napping in his pram are long gone as he is desperate to stay awake to join in all the fun. We do still go out for dinner, we just have to be very choosey in our locations and always rate a place based on their assistance and 'child friendliness'; after-all if Alexander is not welcome your establishment is not for us!
In this guide we have done all the hard work for you and started trying and testing places in Altrincham for dinner and rating those places based upon how family friendly we felt they were. We will add to this guide to include new places throughout the year. The places are in rating order so the higher rated places are featured at the top. Of course, this is all our own opinions and based upon our experience on the day:
Axe and Cleaver
A little bit outside of Altrincham town centre, but still within driving distance is our favourite pub - The Axe and Cleaver. If you have followed my blog for a while you will know this is a special place for Steve and I, because it is where we had our first date and we have visited here on several occasions as a family.
The food is incredible and extremely reasonably priced (especially as you can use your Tesco club card points and turn them into vouchers worth 3x as much as the value of your points - absolute win-win for when you are on a budget). The staff are amazing with families. Our first visit we were running late (first time parents who didn't realise how long it takes to leave a house with a baby) and nearly missed our slot, but they were so understanding and re-jigged a few tables to enable us to have our meal, which was really kind. They have helped with our pram before, had the chef cut up my food for me when I couldn't put Alex in his pram as he was crying, offered us highchairs / a different table to accommodate prams / highchairs. Whenever we have been visiting there has always been other families dining as well so it is certainly a popular venue for family dining. 10/10 family friendly rating - a firm favourite of ours.
Market House
Anyone who knows Altrincham knows Market House. It is pretty much a symbol of Altrincham's regeneration and extremely popular. I enjoy Market House's atmosphere, it always has an excited buzz about it, and the food is incredible. It is a very popular spot with families; lots of indoor and outdoor space to be seated and given there is always a loud buzz you never feel too bad if your little one decides to have a meltdown. Market House has several vendors situated inside it and sells: tacos & nachos; burgers & steaks; pizza; pasta; beer; wine; coffee & cake and margaritas. You can order via the Alt Eats app (not all vendors are on there though) or at the vendor's stalls directly.
Prices vary across the stalls and you tend to order bits and pieces from several vendors. The last time we visited as a family we spent around £50.00, which wasn't too bad considering we had a pizza, dip, nachos and tacos. The beef and chorizo nachos and chicken tacos (was rather disappointed by those) are pictured below. All in all I would rate this an 8/10 for family friendliness - food for little ones (dependent on what the eat) can be difficult to find here, but otherwise a great venue with a little indoor play bit, great food and very child friendly vibes.
Bap - Lunch
Situated in Altrincham town centre, near Home Bargains and a number of great charity shops, is the wonderful Bap. I have raved about Bap before, namely because we get work lunches here and I blame my love of their tuna jacket potatoes whilst pregnant on my weight gain (that and their burritos), it is affordable with dine in options and just a lovely atmosphere. The staff are a huge help and bring your food over if they see you have a pram and are just genuinely lovely people. Lots of other families tend to use Bap as a meet up point and I must admit it is one of my favourite lunch spots in the area for a quick bite to eat. Really affordable and accommodating a strong 7/10.
Oxford Road Cafe
Another firm favourite of mine is Oxford Road Cafe situated on, you guessed it, Oxford Road. A little walk outside of the town centre is this gem. I would recommend asking ahead about bringing a pram, because the space is a little bit narrow inside and I have seen prams parked outside or around the back before. This is a popular weekend brunch / lunch spot and a place we love. The food is good and the service is quick so if you have time constraints (like most of us do for nap times etc) this is a great spot for you. The food I would describe as really well done American diner vibes with some delicious healthy options included such as poke bowls. Highly recommend the Brisket Hash - I first had this whilst 4 months pregnant and it has since become my dish of choice! We have also had the breakfasts, which are great, the ORC zinging burger and salads - all incredible. The only reason I have given Oxford Road Cafe a 6/10 is due to the space issues (which obviously is something they cannot fix, but they do work to accommodate around it so bonus points for that).
Batch - Lunch & Sunday Lunch
To be fair, this is a bit of an out there recommendation and not one most people would suggest. Located in Kings Court, Altrincham, Batch is a great lunch spot. Delicious sandwiches and outdoor seating or indoor seating, both with plenty of space for prams. Batch sell alcoholic and alcohol free beers (their alcohol free beers saved me towards the end of my pregnancy). This is probably for more of a 'lets have a grown up date with the baby' as opposed to actually bringing a baby to, although on Sundays during the Winter they do a good roast so I think this is more of a lunch and Sunday dinner family friendly recommendation as opposed to somewhere to go for dinner as a family. Batch also do takeaway sandwiches from their counter, which I think is a very cute idea and you could get takeaway and go and have a picnic with baby! I just know Steve will be insisting on a winter Batch picnic very soon! All in all a great place to go when you want to feel less mumsy and enjoy a good sandwich in a rustic themed place. Probably a 6/10 on the family friendly scale, but I had to include it because I do really like Batch!
Until Next Time
T
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